Garment press attachment



April 3, 1962 H. J. FRAHM ETAL GARMENT PRESS ATTACHMENT Filed March s,' 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JNVENTORS HERMAN J. FRA m EARL 1? E6404! A Trap/v5 Y United States Patent 3,027,663 GARMENT PRESS ATTACHMENT Herman J. Frahm, 3373 Otono Court, and Earl R. Frahm, 3669 Bell Sh, both of San Bernardino, Calif. Filed Mar. 8, 1960, Ser. No. 13,489 2 Claims. (CI. 38-37) The present invention relates to an attachment for existing presses of the type which are used for the pressing of garments.

Presses may vary as to type such as fully automatic, and hand operated. In the hand operated type, it is customary to provide a handle connected to the presser head which the operator pulls downwardly into engagement with the buck. By foot operated mechanism, the operator may increase the pressure of the head against the buck while steaming and vacuumizing a garment.

The present invention is adapted to be secured to any form of press, and particularly to that form wherein the presser head is hand operated to convert the press into a power operated type.

An object of the invention is to provide a press attachment for power operating the head, which may be easily installed on existing presseswithin a minimum of time, which is economical in cost of manufacture, and efficient in operation.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a partially sectional, fragmentary, side elevation of a pressing machine incorporating the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, and on an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, partially sectional view in side elevation, and on an enlargedscale, showing parts of the press in changed position from that of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, partially sectional view on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, partially sectional view on the line 55 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary, partially sectional view on an enlarged scale, and taken on the line 66 of FIG- URE3;and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary, sectional view, on an enlarged scale, "and taken on the line 77 of FIG- URE 3.

Referring now to the drawings, We have shown a garment pressing machine wherein 1 is the main frame mounted upon a base 2, the main frame being so formed as to be provided with a rear, upwardly extending arm 3 to which is pivoted at 4 an arm 5 carrying a presser head 6. The presser head is adapted to cooperate with a buck or garment support 7, which buck is mounted upon supports 8 secured to the top of the main frame. The work table for the press is shown at 9. This generally outlines the form of the press. To operate the arm 5 so as to bring the presser head 6 into engagement with the buck 7, various and sundry means have been employed in this art, and in the present instance the end 10 of the arm or lever 5 has connected thereto a clevis 11 to which is adjustably secured one end of a rod or link 12 while the opposite end of the rod or link is adjustably secured to a further clevis 13, which clevis is pivotally secured to one arm 14 of a bell crank 15. The bell crank is pivoted at 16 to a lug 17 secured to the frame. The arm 18 of the bell crank is provided with an elongated slot 180.

A pair of spaced brackets 19 and 20 secured to the base 2 carry an intermediate shaft 21 upon which is mounted one end of arms 22 and 23, the arms being offset and provided with parallel portions between which is 3,927,663 Patented Apr. 3, 1962 mounted a roller 24 on a pin 25 extending between the arms. The arms 22 and 23 bridge the arm 18 of the bell crank 15 with the roller 24 positioned within the slot 18a. The arm 23 carries an outwardly extending pin 26 which functions as a catch for a swing hook 27 carried by a treadle arm 23. The book, as shown in. FIGURE 3, is mounted on a pin 29, the pin being surrounded by coil spring 3!) so as to urge the hook to revolve clockwise, as shown in FIGURE 3. This clockwise movement is limited by pin 31 carried by the lever 28. Thus when the arms 22 and 23 are in the position shown in FIGURE 3, the hook will earn itself into engagement with the catch pin 26 and be held in such engagement by the coil spring thus preventing the arms 22 and 2-3 from shifting their position from that shown in FIGURE 3. Coil springs 32 and 33 have their upper ends secured to the end 10 of arm 5, while the opposite ends of the springs are secured to eyes 34 and 35 mounted in the base 2. The springs 32 and 33 are under tension so as normally to swing the lever 5 about its pivot 4 to raise the presser head, as shown in F1? URE l.

' At the rear of the frame 1, and secured thereto, are bearing blocks 40 and 41 between which extends the shaft 42 with one end of the shaft extending beyond the bearing block 41 which end carries a pulley 43. Secured to the base 2 is a rockable support 44 having a platform 45 upon which is mounted a motor 46. The shaft of the motor carries a pulley 47 and between the pulleys 43 and 47 is a continuous belt 48. The rockable mounting for the motor includes a bracket 49 having a bearing portion 50 for a shaft 51 and the platform 45 is secured to one or more posts 52 with the posts mounted upon the shaft 51. Normally the motor is rocked under spring tension by spring 53 in one direction, to wit: to release tension of belt 48 between the pulleys 4-3 and 47. Thus the spring 53 has one end secured to a hook 54 mounted upon the base 2, while the opposite end of the spring is secured to the motor casing, as shown at 55. Thus, the normal position of the motor is that shown in FIGURE 1 with the belt loose about the motor pulley 47 and pulley 43. The foundation 2 carries at its front end a shaft 56 in suitable bearings 57 and 5S and the shaft has fixed thereto a treadle 59 commonly known as the operating treadle or pedal. Secured to one end of the shaft 56 is a lever 60 and extending between the motor and the lever 60 is a chain 61 fastened at one end 62 to the motor casing and adjustably secured at its opposite end to one end of a coil spring 63. The opposite end of the coil spring is secured to the lever 66. Thus depression of the treadle 59 will revolve the shaft 56 to rock the motor to the position shown in FIGURE 4, and tension the belt 48 about the pulleys 47 and 43.

Secured to the arm 14 is a clevis 65, see FIGURE 2. This clevis confines a coil spring 66 which surrounds the shank 67 of eye bolt 71 and is interposed between end 68 of the clevis, and a washer 69 held by a nut 70. The eye of bolt 71 has looped therethrough one end 72 of strap 73. The shaft 42 carries a fixed sleeve 74 and the strap 73 is secured at 75 to the sleeve. When the head 6 is in raised position, as shown in FIGURE 1, the strap 76 is extended and the spring 66 is under slight compression. However, when the treadle 59 is depressed to swing the motor 46 to the position shown in FIGURE 4, the belt 48 is in tension between the pulleys 47 and 43 and the shaft 42 will be rotated. Such rotation winds the belt 73 upon the sleeve 74 to revolve the arm 14 upon the pin 16, and the rod or link 12 moves the arm 5 and its head 6 downwardly into engagement with the buck 7. The arrangement is such that holding the treadle 59 depressed will cause slippage of the belt 48 after the presser head is in engagement with the buck. However, it will be observed that there is a toggle relationship between the link 12, the end 10 of the arm 5, and arm 14 of the bell crank 15; further, that the arms 22 and 23 are now hooked against movement from the position of FIGURE 3 by the hook 2 7 engaging the pin 26. Thus the presser head will be held in the position shown in FIGURE 3 in engagement with the buck 7. If it is desired to release the presser head 6 from the buck 7, the release pedal 80 is moved downwardly, which will move the treadle arm 23 downwardly and in so doing will release the hook 27 from engagement with pin 26. When this occurs, the springs 32 and 33 which have been tensioned, will then revolve the arm 5 upon the pivot 4 to raise the pressure head 6 to the position shown in FIGURE 1, and the belt 73 will assume the position shown in FIGURES l and 2 as the belt 48 is now loose about pulleys 43 and 47 and the shaft 42 is not being power rotated.

The operation, uses and advantages of my invention are as follows.

A non-powered press or a press wherein the head is hand operated, may be converted into a power operated press by installing the present invention. The motor 46 is mounted upon a rockable platform and a shaft 42 is secured in suitable bearings, such as and 41, to the frame of the press. The large diameter pulley wheel 43 is connected to the shaft 42 and a continuous belt is passed around the motor pulley, which is of small diam eter, and the large diameter pulley 43. The further addition consists in power operating the bell crank by connecting one arm of the bell crank through suitable means to a flexible belt 73 which may be wound in part upon the shaft 42. Spring mountings for rocking the motor are provided, as well as the chain adjustment between lever and the motor. Standard pressing machines, which are not automatic, may not provide a locking arrangement for holding the presser head to the buck, in which case a hook and catch must be provided. Other than the items just enumerated, very little expense is incurred in converting the non-powered press to a power operated machine.

It is evident so far as operation of the press is concerned, that the head 6 is moved to a position which will normally contact the buck 7 and any garment requiring pressing interposed between the head and the buck, by depressing the treadle 59, which through the shaft 56 and associated members 63, will rock the motor 46 to tension the belt 48 between the pulleys 43 and 47. When this occurs, the shaft 42 will rotate and wind the belt 73 about the shaft, the belt rotating the arm 14 of the bell crank 15 to move the link 12 and rotate the arm 5 about its pivot 4 to swing the head 6 from the position of FIGURE 1 to that of FIGURE 3. This position is held without the operator further depressing the treadle 59 due to the hook 27 engaging the pin 26 which holds the lever 23 in the position shown in FIGURE 3. When the treadle is depressed, the hook will release the pin 26 and under action of the coil springs 32 and 33, the arm 5 will revolve from the position of FIGURE 3 to that of FIGURE 1. The adjustment is such that if the operator held his foot upon the treadle 59, there would be a slippage of the belt 48 about the pulleys 43 and 47 to the end that no damage would result to belt '73 and its associated parts.

We have detailed in this statement those elements that enter into the present invention and have not detailed other elements which are generally employed in a press such as the vacuum treadle and its associated arm or lever 101, nor the treadle for steam shown at 100.

We claim:

1. In a pressing machine, a frame, a fixed buck mounted on the frame, a movable presser head, a power driven shaft carried by the frame and a flexible belt one end of which is secured to the power driven shaft; a bell crank having two arms, one arm of which is secured to the other end of the flexible belt, linkage between said bell crank arm and the movable presser head whereby when the power driven shaft winds the belt thereon, the bell crank arm is turned and the linkage moves the presser head into engagement with the fixed buck.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1, means for dn'ving the power driven shaft comprising: a motor rockably carried by the frame, said motor having a shaft and a pulley mounted on the motor shaft, 9. second pulley mounted on the power driven shaft, a continuous belt passed around the two pulleys, means normally rocking the motor to maintain the continuous belt untensioned, and means for rocking the motor to tension the belt to turn the pulleys to drive the power driven shaft, the tension on the continuous belt being such as to permit slippage thereof about the pulleys when the presser head engages the fixed buck.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,460,070 Maiman June 26, 1923 1,950,136 Davis Mar. 6, 1934 2,301,626 Kahn Nov. 10, 1942 2,350,153 Davis May 30, 1944 2,624,134 Ketchum Jan. 6, 1953 

